Dawa Sherpa summited Everest in May 2026, but on the descent he ran out of supplemental oxygen near Camp 3 (about 7,500 meters) and disappeared. Search teams found no trace for six days, and his wife in Kathmandu began funeral rites, believing he had died.
In reality, he spent about two and a half days trapped in an ice crevasse, surviving on snow and chocolates from his pockets. He was eventually freed when an avalanche filled part of the crevasse, allowing him to climb out. From there, he used found ropes, moved mostly at night, and made his way toward base camp. He was later found crawling across a frozen waterfall, about 11 kilometers from where he was last seen.
Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions called it a “true self-rescue.” Dawa was flown to Kathmandu for treatment for severe dehydration, frostbite, and a fracture. He is also known as Hillary Dawa Sherpa, named after Edmund Hillary.